Former Members of Congress Make the Case for Voter-Owned Elections in New York

The Buffalo News ran an op-ed yesterday by former members of Congress, Sherwood Boehlert and Amory Houghton (NY), on the need to restore ethics in Albany through Voter-Owned publicly financed elections.

"Overhauling this broken system is not only necessary but possible.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo noted in his State of the State address that we “need public financing of campaigns” and the Assembly has passed such laws repeatedly in recent years, only to see them falter in the Senate. While a public campaign finance system will cost money — an estimated $30 million or .02 percent of the state budget — that cost pales in comparison to the billions in state contracts, tax breaks and regulatory benefits awarded to major donors every year."

The ongoing campaign in New York state has been buoyed by support from former elected officials, and other unusual backers, like prominent business people, as the op-ed notes. Along with pieces like this, there is tireless work being done on the ground and in the halls of the state legislature to restore Albany's reputation with Voter-Owned Elections. For more information on the campaign, go to votersnotdonors.org.